2 Kings 6:25 (GNV)

Passage

So there was a great famine in Samaria: for loe, they besieged it vntill an asses head was at foure score pieces of siluer, and the fourth part of a kab of doues doung at fiue pieces of siluer.

Nearby Context

2 Kings 6:23 And he made great preparation for them: and when they had eaten and drunken, he sent them away: and they went to their master. So ye bands of Aram came no more into the land of Israel.

2 Kings 6:24 But afterward Ben-hadad King of Aram gathered all his hoste, and went vp, and besieged Samaria.

2 Kings 6:25 So there was a great famine in Samaria: for loe, they besieged it vntill an asses head was at foure score pieces of siluer, and the fourth part of a kab of doues doung at fiue pieces of siluer.

2 Kings 6:26 And as the King of Israel was going vpon the wall, there cryed a woman vnto him, saying, Helpe, my lord, O King.

2 Kings 6:27 And he said, Seeing the Lord doeth not succour thee, howe shoulde I helpe thee with the barne, or with the wine presse?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "great", "famine", "samaria", "besieged", "vntill", "asses", "head", and "foure". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "great" and "famine", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 24's "But afterward Ben-hadad King of Aram gathered..." into verse 26's "And as the King of Israel was...", so "great" and "famine" belong inside that flow. In 2 Kings context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "great" and "famine" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.